Sunday, May 31, 2009

The moon talks about what drove her away from the earth, reveals her dark side, and why she never reads Dante.

Interviewed by Dale Beran

So how did you come to circle the earth?Well, actually I broke apart from the earth 3.5 billion years ago when we were a single mingled mass, super-heated, but quickly cooling.

Oh, wow. So are you still on good terms with him?[laughs] Well, that was a long time ago.

And the sun? Yes, he was there too, years back. It was very strange. We were all living together, compressed into the head of a pin.

Was it better then?You know it’s hard to say. We had no money. I sank into a deep despair. But there were good things. Sweating in that little apartment, the rest of the celestial bodies pushed against yours, young, waiting, for what? You had to go crazy. The fights we would have. The sun would catch my fists as I flung them at him. Nothing was ever in the refrigerator. How I burned then to be alone.

Everyone knows you have a dark side, but what's it like?The sun is a powerful force. I'll be the first to admit that. But it's not like I'm hiding anything from him. It's just that the earth wants to see all of me, and I don't think that's what I want. So some things... some things remain obscure.

How often are you kissed by the stray asteroid?It happens now and then, but not as often as people think. It's just that each one, over the eons, leaves an indelible mark. It's difficult to tell how many because when I regard my reflection, it is often broken into a million pieces in earth's troubled waters.

Yes, in desperate times, I've noticed. Do you watch me?

I watch you change, sometimes, from my bedroom window. It's not something I'm ashamed of, but not something I mention to anyone.It's ok.

Really?Yes.

Wasn't that how the poet Li Po drowned?How?

"And Li Po also died drunkHe tried to embrace a moonIn the yellow river." I didn't know that.

Do you feel responsible for the death of poets?Partly.

Do you think it was fair how Dante portrayed you, a sphere of imperfection, not quite in heaven, not quite as flawed as the earth?People can write what they like. They are ephemera to me. I can only see the larger picture, longer than the brief pattern of their lives.

Do I have enough oxygen to reach home?[laughs] Apparently not.

What should I do?You should stay with me forever in the Mare Lacrimae.

Is there such a place?It is a curved pool of silken silt.

[laughs] Thank you, moon! You've been a great interviewee!My pleasure.

*1. “. . .auf dem Tisch” Dative singular, masculine. “auf” here implies that the Stäbchen are on the table.*2. “einfach” – The word “einfach” means “easy” or “simple” in German. But it also means “simply” and it often used as “just,” as in English’s “He just left (because he was mad.)” In German it would be “Er ist einfach gegangen. . .” In the context of this line, Schnappi is telling the llama to just scoop up some food with it’s chop sticks.*3. “. .mit den Stäbchen. . .” – “mit” is always dative. Dative plural article = “den”*4. “Die Stäbchen” literally means “the little sticks.” This word is the German expression for “chop sticks.”*5 “es geht. . .” – the verb “gehen” means “to walk” or “to go,” but it is very often used for “it works.” For example: “This chair is a little uncomfortable, you sure you like it?” “Es geht.”*6 “es klappt. . .” – “klappen” is most often used for “to work out”*7 “Reis und Fisch schmekt,” ’schmecken” is the German verb for “to taste,” but when simply used as “schmecken” it means “to taste good.” Many waiters will ask you after your meal “Geschmeckt?” or “Hat’s Geschmeckt?,” (the past particle of “schmecken”)*8“alles klar” ‘Alles klar” literally means “all clear” or “everything clear,” but is also used to acknowledge that an idea or instruction has been understood. So, it is used here, as the llama has understood how to use the chopsticks.9* big- großbigger- größer —don’t forget umlaut!biggest- (am) größte(n) —don’t forget umlaut!!

Monday, May 25, 2009

Not part of my x/x holiday posts, but today is Towel Day, as it is every 5/52th of the year.

Some D.N.A. quotes for the day:

The world is a thing of utter inordinate complexity and richness and strangeness that is absolutely awesome. I mean the idea that such complexity can arise not only out of such simplicity, but probably absolutely out of nothing, is the most fabulous extraordinary idea. And once you get some kind of inkling of how that might have happened, it's just wonderful. And . . . the opportunity to spend 70 or 80 years of your life in such a universe is time well spent as far as I am concerned.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

I can hear my neighbors outside complaining to each other. Apparently they can hear a banging sound, and they don't know what to do about it. So far, one has tried banging on his ceiling, and now they're all out of ideas.

Hello, my neighbors that play Rock Band at 4am. I'm putting some shelves together. (If they bothered to ask; they know it's coming from my apartment, why don't they knock? Am I scary?)

Friday, May 01, 2009

Think you know English? Then, surely you know the phrase "the exception that proves the rule" right?

Or, do you?

The old-fashioned meaning of the verb 'prove' is 'to test'. "The exception proves the rule" made perfect sense when it was first stated - the exception casts doubt on the rule by 'testing' it and finding it inadequate; it makes no sense at all when it is used today to justify ignoring awkward exceptions.